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outcolder's review
3.0
The writing is juvenile, the plot is telegraphed, the characters are flat, the politics are suspect, but... it does have two female characters who talk to each other about something other than men.
I don't know why I continue to read his "Grand Tour" books. I think I like the optimism, that humanity just keeps going, expanding through space, inventing cool new technologies, making amazing discoveries. Back on Earth everyone is miserable and ruled by despotic fundamentalist theocracies that emerged to keep order through the environmental catastrophes, so it is not all rainbows and unicorns. I guess so much of what I normally read is the "earth groans..." part without the "... but on the outer space habitat it's a libertarian socialist utopia where people drink home brewed beer" bit.
So, I see a bunch of SF heads here gave this, like, one star, but my attitude is, it's better than the crap SF on TV.
I don't know why I continue to read his "Grand Tour" books. I think I like the optimism, that humanity just keeps going, expanding through space, inventing cool new technologies, making amazing discoveries. Back on Earth everyone is miserable and ruled by despotic fundamentalist theocracies that emerged to keep order through the environmental catastrophes, so it is not all rainbows and unicorns. I guess so much of what I normally read is the "earth groans..." part without the "... but on the outer space habitat it's a libertarian socialist utopia where people drink home brewed beer" bit.
So, I see a bunch of SF heads here gave this, like, one star, but my attitude is, it's better than the crap SF on TV.
brucehoward's review
3.0
Another Bova novel fitting a familiar but at times frustrating pattern -- a very interesting technical, political and sociological backdrop undermined by a poor exploitation of the opportunities offered by same, as well as weak character development.
I reckon 4 stars for the setup, 2 for execution giving it 3 stars overall.
I reckon 4 stars for the setup, 2 for execution giving it 3 stars overall.
brettp's review
3.0
Finished "Saturn" by Ben Bova. This didn't even get interesting until most of the way through book 1. After that, the author liked to show his hand a lot, so it was really only alright.
michaeljohnhalseartistry's review
1.0
You know, mistakes do happen. Sometimes you pick up a book with a promising premise and it makes you want to die, and this was one of those books. I probably should have expected it though, because I bought it at a dollar store… I paid a dollar for this book, and after reading it, I’d say that’s a fair price point.
Saturn is a part of a huge anthology of books spanning Bova’s Grand Tour series. The books in the series are stand alone, but there are overlapping settlings, themes and characters throughout the series. Apparently Bova is a well known and respected sic-fi author, but I did not get that impression from this book. The characterization was incredibly poor and stereotypical and the plot hardly held it together. The only thing that intrigued be about this story was the ship they travelled in… that was it. And all it was, was a giant cylinder that was made to look like rolling hills, farmland and greek villages.
Bova is an atheist and proud to be one and has been outspoken about religion throughout his entire career. I was raised in a traditional Baptist house, and I do consider myself a spiritual Christian, even though I wouldn’t necessarily say I agree with traditional Baptist interpretations, but I’ve never had a problem with understanding and accepting different beliefs. But Bova displays that he doesn’t understand religion at all. In this book and the whole series he’s moulded religious bodies into the antagonist – which I don’t have a problem with, there’s corruption in every form of government and religion. The problem I had with it, was that any character who had any sort of faith beside an atheistic world view, was a selfish, corrupt villain with really no moral merit that would tie them to their beliefs. And apparently this is recurrent throughout his entire series and his works. But to me, it really showed that he knows so little about what he’s writing about. I’ve written religious characters who are fanatics, sure, but I’ve also written religious characters who are accepting and loving…
But I mean, that was just ONE of the many problems I had with it. The premise didn’t make any sense… these religious bodies were sending all the radicals from earth to Saturn to study it, but then wanted to make sure a religious government was formed… then why would you send all your radicals and atheists out together? The main protagonist talked like a valley girl, with slang that included words like “cosmic” and “ftl” (faster than light), but no one else spoke like that… and I don’t understand why she did… the politics of the whole thing was shaky at best, another main character who was supposed to be this charming individual who was exceptional at speeches and capturing the attention of the people had literally the worst speeches ever written. I mean, all these radical thinkers from earth must be complete idiots. Like, he was all about making a government for the people and laws for the people so they could be free, but he installed a dress code early on in the book… that’d not what freedom looks like.
Basically, Bova wrote a garbage book, and I regret not leaving it in the dollar store.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT MY BLOG:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Saturn is a part of a huge anthology of books spanning Bova’s Grand Tour series. The books in the series are stand alone, but there are overlapping settlings, themes and characters throughout the series. Apparently Bova is a well known and respected sic-fi author, but I did not get that impression from this book. The characterization was incredibly poor and stereotypical and the plot hardly held it together. The only thing that intrigued be about this story was the ship they travelled in… that was it. And all it was, was a giant cylinder that was made to look like rolling hills, farmland and greek villages.
Bova is an atheist and proud to be one and has been outspoken about religion throughout his entire career. I was raised in a traditional Baptist house, and I do consider myself a spiritual Christian, even though I wouldn’t necessarily say I agree with traditional Baptist interpretations, but I’ve never had a problem with understanding and accepting different beliefs. But Bova displays that he doesn’t understand religion at all. In this book and the whole series he’s moulded religious bodies into the antagonist – which I don’t have a problem with, there’s corruption in every form of government and religion. The problem I had with it, was that any character who had any sort of faith beside an atheistic world view, was a selfish, corrupt villain with really no moral merit that would tie them to their beliefs. And apparently this is recurrent throughout his entire series and his works. But to me, it really showed that he knows so little about what he’s writing about. I’ve written religious characters who are fanatics, sure, but I’ve also written religious characters who are accepting and loving…
But I mean, that was just ONE of the many problems I had with it. The premise didn’t make any sense… these religious bodies were sending all the radicals from earth to Saturn to study it, but then wanted to make sure a religious government was formed… then why would you send all your radicals and atheists out together? The main protagonist talked like a valley girl, with slang that included words like “cosmic” and “ftl” (faster than light), but no one else spoke like that… and I don’t understand why she did… the politics of the whole thing was shaky at best, another main character who was supposed to be this charming individual who was exceptional at speeches and capturing the attention of the people had literally the worst speeches ever written. I mean, all these radical thinkers from earth must be complete idiots. Like, he was all about making a government for the people and laws for the people so they could be free, but he installed a dress code early on in the book… that’d not what freedom looks like.
Basically, Bova wrote a garbage book, and I regret not leaving it in the dollar store.
---
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, PHOTOS, AND MY OWN NOVEL SERIES, CHECK OUT MY BLOG:
www.michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
jpv0's review
3.0
[b:Saturn|64703|Saturn (The Grand Tour, #13)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316130751l/64703._SY75_.jpg|2566821] was something of a bummer, especially coming off [b:Jupiter|267334|Jupiter (The Grand Tour, #9)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442052818l/267334._SY75_.jpg|293541] and the Asteroid Wars, [b:The Aftermath|768917|The Aftermath (The Grand Tour, #12; The Asteroid Wars, #4)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442426245l/768917._SY75_.jpg|754977] in particular. It might as well have been called 'adventures of a colony ship', since it's only in the last fraction of the book that we actually make it to Saturn. The rest of the book is spent by power hungry religious zealots trying to take over a ship ostensibly populated by ten thousand people trying to escape exactly that sort of behavior.
On top of that, I don't really care about any of the characters. They're all either cartoonishly evil or inept or scientists that need concepts they should know cold explained to them. It's kind of a bummer also that the main character went through the cryogenic freeze/thaw that we've seen discussed in other books, leaving her having to rebuild her life from scratch. But it really doesn't actually go anywhere. A missed opportunity.
About the only really cool things that redeem this book were the discovery of life and the set up for even grander future books.
For the former, it's sort of Bova's / The Grand Tour's thing that life is found absolutely everywhere, so it's no surprise that Saturn is no exception, but the way it's done was pretty cool. I would much rather have read a book about life inin the rings of Saturn ... And they didn't even make it to Titan. I guess that's why [b:Titan|267281|Titan (The Grand Tour, #15)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727959l/267281._SY75_.jpg|259134] is a thing.
For the latter, I fully expect a generation ship to show up at some point. With Saturn, it's within the realm of technically possible. Really, if Saturn had taken place on such a generation ship, I think it would have made a much stronger story. So it goes.
Overall, another skippable book in the Grand Tour, unless you really want the full set.
Onwards (and backwards?) to [b:Leviathans of Jupiter|8730311|Leviathans of Jupiter (The Grand Tour, #14)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316130496l/8730311._SY75_.jpg|13574702]!
On top of that, I don't really care about any of the characters. They're all either cartoonishly evil or inept or scientists that need concepts they should know cold explained to them. It's kind of a bummer also that the main character went through the cryogenic freeze/thaw that we've seen discussed in other books, leaving her having to rebuild her life from scratch. But it really doesn't actually go anywhere. A missed opportunity.
About the only really cool things that redeem this book were the discovery of life and the set up for even grander future books.
For the former, it's sort of Bova's / The Grand Tour's thing that life is found absolutely everywhere, so it's no surprise that Saturn is no exception, but the way it's done was pretty cool. I would much rather have read a book about life in
For the latter, I fully expect a generation ship to show up at some point. With Saturn, it's within the realm of technically possible. Really, if Saturn had taken place on such a generation ship, I think it would have made a much stronger story. So it goes.
Overall, another skippable book in the Grand Tour, unless you really want the full set.
Onwards (and backwards?) to [b:Leviathans of Jupiter|8730311|Leviathans of Jupiter (The Grand Tour, #14)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316130496l/8730311._SY75_.jpg|13574702]!
apostrophen's review
4.0
This is another of the "Grand Tour" novels. This time, the tale is about a group of free-thinking scientists and folks who were sent off in a starship (which is going to be a space station once they arrive), and the various failures of sociology that accompany such a trip.
There's the religious nut contingent (who want to make sure the starship/space spacestation end up a firmly New Morality place to be), the power-hungry individuals, the sadists, the murderers, the freaks, the glory-hunters... well, you get the idea.
All in all, this wasn't my favourite Ben Bova "Grand Tour" book to date, but I did enjoy it. Certainly, the murder plot is quite vivid, and some of the main characters are quite interesting. I've read this one out of order, too, and have learned that the series is actually:
1. EMPIRE BUILDERS (Tor Books, 1993)
2. MARS (Bantam Books, 1992)
3. MOONRISE (Avon Books, 1996)
4. MOONWAR (Avon Books, 1998)
5. RETURN TO MARS (Avon Books, 1999)
6. JUPITER (Tor Books, 2001)
7. THE PRECIPICE (Tor Books, 2001)
8. THE ROCK RATS (Tor Books, 2002)
9. SATURN (Tor Books, 2003)
10. THE SILENT WAR (Tor Books, 2004)
11. VENUS (Tor Books, 2000)
There's the religious nut contingent (who want to make sure the starship/space spacestation end up a firmly New Morality place to be), the power-hungry individuals, the sadists, the murderers, the freaks, the glory-hunters... well, you get the idea.
All in all, this wasn't my favourite Ben Bova "Grand Tour" book to date, but I did enjoy it. Certainly, the murder plot is quite vivid, and some of the main characters are quite interesting. I've read this one out of order, too, and have learned that the series is actually:
1. EMPIRE BUILDERS (Tor Books, 1993)
2. MARS (Bantam Books, 1992)
3. MOONRISE (Avon Books, 1996)
4. MOONWAR (Avon Books, 1998)
5. RETURN TO MARS (Avon Books, 1999)
6. JUPITER (Tor Books, 2001)
7. THE PRECIPICE (Tor Books, 2001)
8. THE ROCK RATS (Tor Books, 2002)
9. SATURN (Tor Books, 2003)
10. THE SILENT WAR (Tor Books, 2004)
11. VENUS (Tor Books, 2000)
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